Mashaba to present report on city response to storm damage

Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba will on Friday present a report on the city’s efforts to help destitute communities following the devastation from last week’s violent storm and heavy rains.

The city has been working with the Gauteng provincial government to find lasting solutions for residents after hundreds of houses were damaged during the storm last Saturday which blew off roofs, uprooted trees and damaged vehicles, particularly in Protea Glen in Soweto.

Tshepisong, Thembelihle, Alexandra, Maria Lewis, Protea Glen Extensions and Braamfishcerville were also impacted.

Two people were killed in Lenasia, south of the city centre, after a tree fell on top of the car they were travelling in.

Mashaba asked the city’s group risk advisory services to conduct a full risk assessment of the damage caused by the storm and deliver a preliminary report by Friday.

He said he wanted the report to contain the full extent of the damage and determine whether the event should be declared a provincial or national disaster.

Mashaba also wants an investigation into the contractors involved in building some of the houses damaged during the storm, amid charges that most houses in Protea Glen were destroyed as a result of poor workmanship.

On Thursday, Mashaba said he was concerned by recent reports that a few disgruntled residents of Protea Glen had been disrupting disaster relief efforts while assessors from the National Home Builders Registration Council were threatened while looking at affected houses.

– ANA

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